Base officials announced yesterday that 300 Marines-in-training at Marine Corps Depot San Diego along with some personnel at Camp Pendleton have been exposed to the E.coli pathogen.

Escherichia coli is a proteobacteria normally transmitted via the oral-fecal route. E. coli is usually an indicator of raw sewage contamination of potable water or food supply contamination. It can enter the food supply from food handlers failing to wash their hands after excretion and wearing latex gloves while food handling The bacteria can live in the intestinal track of animals and humans.

E. coli pathology:

E. coli O157:H7 is one of the most infective strains that can cause food poisoning. It can lead to bloody diarrhea and kidney failure when one gets infected by contaminated ground beef, unpasteurized milk or contaminated water. Some important symptoms are diarrhea that is acute and severe, either bloody or not bloody, stomach cramping, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and fever. The causes can usually clear up on their own in 1-3 days with no treatment required. However, patients should avoid dairy products because those products may induce temporary lactose intolerance, and therefore make the diarrhea worse.